J.Crew

In the last few years, J.Crew's quirky "new vintage" look—let's call it unmatchy-matchy—has become so popular that a few editors in the crowd at yesterday's Fall presentation looked as though they could've stepped onto the blocks that the models were standing on and done some posing of their own. So president and executive creative director Jenna Lyons and the head of women's design, Marissa Webb, were smart to move on. Yes, you could still spot the occasional weathered denim jacket teamed with an even more weathered pair of boyfriend jeans, along with a cashmere cape, orange pumps, and a checked fedora. But taking cues from the movies Bonnie and Clyde and The Great Gatsby, many of the looks had a more sophisticated spin: a mint green cable sweater tucked into a pair of high-rise, full-legged rust-colored wool trousers, for instance, or a teal blue washed silk trench belted over a little knit top and a pair of leopard-spot embroidered capris. A camel trench, meanwhile, was lined with a removable tulle underskirt for extra volume.

Little details have always been top of mind for Team Lyons. For Fall, clever touches reinvigorated the accessories. Driving moccasins came in leopard spot, and, speaking of sophistication, the pointy-toed, multi-strap pumps could've strolled off a Paris runway. In contrast, the models' Cutler and Gross spectacles felt closer to home; dead ringers for Lyons' own glasses, these distinctive, thick-frame numbers summed it all up: The cult of J.Crew just keeps on growing.